PEACE DAY JANUARY 1 & PEACE DEPT. PETITION:

Dear Friend,
Today we have a remarkable opportunity to fulfill one of our most
cherished goals: the creation of a more secure foundation for national and global peace.
But we need you to act immediately. On July 11, 2001 Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio)
introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to create a Department of
Peace--a cabinet-level agency dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions
conducive to both domestic and international peace.
The Department of Peace would focus on nonmilitary peaceful conflict
resolutions, prevent violence, and promote justice and democratic principles to expand
human rights. A Peace Academy, similar to the five military service academies, would be
created, its graduates dispatched to troubled areas around the globe to promote nonviolent
dispute resolutions.
Rep. Kucinich's bill (H.R. 2459), which already has 38 congressional
cosponsors, opens the door for the realization of these long-standing goals. Rep. Kucinich
has also sponsored two bills on genetically engineered
foods, one for labeling and one for testing. As he introduced H.R. 2459, Rep. Kucinich
commented, "The
time for peace is now. Peace is not only the absence of violence, but the presence of a
higher evolution of human awareness with respect, trust and integrity toward
humankind."

SUMMARY of H.R. 2459 Establishes a Department of Peace, which shall be headed by a Secretary of Peace
appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Sets forth the
mission of the Department, including to: (1) hold peace as an organizing principle; (2)
endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights; and (3)
develop policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent
intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of
conflict.
Establishes in the Department the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Peace, which shall
provide assistance and make recommendations to the Secretary and the President concerning
intergovernmental policies relating to peace and nonviolent conflict resolution.
Transfers to the Department the functions, assets, and personnel of various Federal
agencies.
Establishes a Federal Interagency Committee on Peace.
Establishes Peace Day. Urges all citizens to observe and celebrate the blessings of peace
and endeavor to create peace on such day.

2002 UPDATE: Copy and
paste (to avoid all the >>) this petition into an email to everyone
you know.

Subject: Petition in support of a
Dept. of Peace

This independent citizen's initiative to create
a United States Cabinet-level Department of Peace was launched in the
United States of America on September 18, 2002. It was initiated to help
reduce ignorance and suffering and to expand knowledge and justice in our
world. Please "sign" this petition below.

Rationale: We are
familiar with war. We are not very knowledgeable about peace, which is
defined as the cessation or absence of war. That indicates what peace is
not but not what peace is. Peace is something more than the cessation of
hostilities. If we exist in a state of repressed fear, we cannot call that
peace.

True peace, like war, is a symptom. While war is the
culmination of our competitive excesses, peace is symptomatic of that which
is constructive, cooperative, and nurturing. Whereas war is the most
debilitating addiction by which we suffer, peace represents the most
wholesome expression of the spirit by which we are sustained.

As a
species, we are beginning to realize that we are each a part of a system of
relationships that embrace our families, friends, neighbors, business
associates, groups and organizations, community, nation, and whole family
of nations. No single object in nature exists independently. It is apparent
that there is no constructive place for hostilities in this pattern.

We
simply do not have the time, resources, or energy to waste fighting with
each other. We have serious problems on this planet. There are now 6.2
billion of us. We are increasing at a rate of 80 million a year. Each week
we have approximately 1,538,000 more of us to feed, clothe, house, educate,
employ, transport, government, protect, and keep healthy. It's time to get
serious about peace.

We have a Department of Defense (formerly
Department of War). Why do we not have a Department of Peace? In fact, a
bill was introduced on July 11, 2001 by U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich to
create a Cabinet-level Department of Peace. This bill embodies a
broad-based approach to peaceful, non-violent conflict resolution at both
domestic and international levels. The Department of Peace would serve to
promote non-violence as an organizing principle in our society, and help to
create the conditions for a more peaceful and secure world.

1. Establish a cabinet-level department in the
executive branch of the Federal Government dedicated to peacemaking and the
study of conditions that are conducive to both domestic and international
peace.

2. Headed by a Secretary of Peace, appointed by the President with the
advice and consent of the Senate.

3. The mission of the Department shall: hold peace as an organizing
principle; endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand
human rights; strengthen nonmilitary means of peacemaking; promote the
development of human potential; work to create peace, prevent violence,
divert from armed conflict and develop new structures in nonviolent dispute
resolution; and take a proactive, strategic approach in the development of
policies that promote national and international conflict prevention,
nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict and
structured mediation of conflict.

4. The Department will create and establish a Peace Academy, modeled after
the military service academies, which will provide a 4 year concentration
in peace education. Graduates will be required to serve 5 years in public
service in programs dedicated to domestic or international nonviolent
conflict resolution.

5. The principal officers of the Department, in addition to the Secretary
of Peace will include; the Under Secretary of Peace; the Assistant
Secretary for Peace Education and Training; the Assistant Secretary for
Domestic Peace Activities, the Assistant Secretary for International Peace
Activities; the Assistant Secretary for Technology for Peace; the Assistant
Secretary for Arms Control and Disarmament; the Assistant Secretary for
Peaceful Coexistence and Nonviolent Conflict Resolution; the Assistant
Secretary for Human and Economic Rights; and a General Counsel.

6. The first day of each year, January 1st will be designated as Peace Day
in the United States and all citizens should be encouraged to observe and
celebrate the blessings of peace and endeavor to create peace in the coming
year.

Contact Information: The coordinator for this project is Joseph (Joe) R.
Simonetta, Senior Editor of the World Business Academy
(www.worldbusiness.org) and
author of Seven Words That Can Change the World (Nov 2001, Hampton Roads
Publishing). Mr. Simonetta's diverse background includes having been a U.S.
military officer (Army artillery, 1996-68). His web site is www.joesimonetta.com.
His email address is jrsimonetta@comcast.net.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add your name, state, and country to the list below.
2. Forward (cut and paste is best) this petition to others.
3. If you are the 100th person on the list, do the following:
a. Send a copy of the list to lisa.casini@mail.house.gov
(Lisa is on Congressman Kucinich's staff) and to Joe Simonetta atjrsimonetta@comcast.net.
b. Keep the petition going.
c. Eliminate all the names that you have sent to Casini and Simonetta.
d. Send out the petition with your name, state, and country first
(it's okay that you've signed twice).

ADD YOUR NAME, STATE, AND COUNTRY TO THE PETITION FOR A U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
PEACE: